The Charles Dickens, 160 Union Street, Southwark, SE1 0LH

The Charles Dickens on Union Street is an unpretentious and unassuming real ale pub in central London.  It was the ideal place for a beer and bite before going to see Dr Faustus at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Whilst super close to the Tate Modern, it was tucked away from crowds, and pleasantly quiet when we arrived.  It was a warm afternoon, so discovering the small outdoor area at the back was particularly great.

The choice and quality of the beers was very good (a lemon beer being a particular highlight for D), which is to be expected given that we’d found the pub in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Being a former English Lit student, I was admittedly a bit snobby about the quality and authenticity of the Dickens’ memorabilia.   But, this was saved by the food.  With all the meat provided from nearby Smithfield, the very simple British pub food, was totally in keeping with the atmosphere and feel of the pub.

Huge pie, throughly enjoyed by D's Dad

Fantastic chips with my chicken (above), and D's steak, (below)

Very reasonably priced with large portions, and fantastic quality, everything was good.   Service wasn’t always as attentive as it could have been, but it was friendly and little touches such as condiments being bought without us needing to ask, were definite plus points.  

If I had to mention a negative it would be the lack of dessert menu. 

Even with the Dickensian theme, this didn’t appear to be a pub that pandered to tourists, avoiding the prices and pretensions of most places in Central London.  Would certainly visit again!

The Bounty, Cockmarsh, Bourne End

Accessible only by boat or on foot, The Bounty was one of those pubs that I had heard plenty of great things about, but I hadn’t managed to ever visit. It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for our walk from Marlow. With its beautiful riverside location, I expected the place to be heaving with people, but whilst it was certainly busy, we were delighted to find plenty of outdoor tables available as we approached.

The Bounty manages to be quirky without being pretentious – there’s a skull proudly displayed by the bar, which as well as booze, sells greeting cards, Curly Wurlys and ginger beer (on tap). As well as a lovely range of bar snacks and a hot food menu, there was a cake of the day (my kind of place!) and ice cream also on sale.

The sign above the entrance to the pub welcomes punters to ‘The People’s Republic of Cockmarsh’ where “the laws of common sense apply”, and upon walking into the pub, my immediate reaction was that I’d walked into some other land. There was a queue at the bar but the bar staff were lovely and the wait didn’t seem to matter, as there was plenty to look at inside.

Given the heat of the day I drank lashings of firey ginger beer through a pink straw (I wanted to make the most of finding somewhere that served it on tap), but on the beer front there were some local Rebellion Brewery offerings (the fresh and hoppy Rebellion Blonde was sampled) and a fantastically named ‘Grumpy Cow’. The cider option was the extremely potent scrumpy, Old Rosie. D commented on the good condition of the beer which was at the optimal temperature.

The food is simple but brilliant.

Cheesy chips are great, but The Bounty goes one better and offers…STILTON CHIPS! Utterly utterly divine chunky chips covered with slabs of melting Stilton. The simple things taste the best. Other food sampled included an old school but still lovely bacon toastie, and a ham Ploughmans. Portion sizes were more than generous. The home cooked ham was clearly of good quality and there was plenty of pickle. Quavers were served on the side!

The outdoor area stretched out on either side of the pub, with a children’s play area (complete with Big Scary Tree) on the opposite side to where we were. Truly a place with something for everyone, I can’t wait to visit again.

The Pineapple, Lake End Road, Dorney, Bucks, SL4 6QS

Beautiful weather and many weeks of hard work, called for a well deserved lunch-time escape to the village of Dorney.   Although Dorney is home to a manor house, a rowing lake (a venue for the 2012 Olympics), and the first pineapple grown in England, in the eyes of the hungry folk who work round this way, it is most importantly home to sandwiches of IMMENSE proportions at The Pineapple pub.

Immense isn't a word I'm using lightly... it applies to the gigantic size of the sandwiches, the generosity and quality of the fillings, and perhaps most of all, the choice.  Lunch here is such a ritual for anyone working in the area, just about every person in our office has a menu saved somewhere on their desktop.  And for good reason.  Each trip is preceded by much deliberation pouring over the menu (sometimes for hours, or even sleeping on it before making a final decision), as the menu is extensive.  The imaginative menu  of almost 80 selections, extends into around 400 different options as each can be served on "crusty white bloomer, wholegrain brown, toasted bagel, tortilla wrap or french baguette" and then technically into over different 1000 variations as each can be served with chunky chips, soup or salad.  Always generously filled (for example with substantial slices of just-roasted meats), it's a fine art to construct an option that won't be so huge it defeats you (although, if it does, they will obligingly pack it up for you to take away).

(C) The Pineapple

Understandably, there is a downside.   Options inevitably lead to much time between ordering and eating.  But this is ok, as whether it's a group of 12 or a group of 2, you can phone in orders before 11am, and spare the lengthy wait.

My love of beer gardens is well documented on these pages, and The Pineapple has an enviable one (which appears to be recently revamped).  A bit of a sun trap, it's quite a delight even when one considers the proximity of the main road.  With plenty of tables it is always a far better option than sitting indoors during a busy lunch service, as although the pub has character, it often feels cramped rather than cosy.

We enjoyed some beautiful sunshine out on the decked area of the garden today.  Being experts at dining at The Pineapple we were there early to beat the crowds, and we'd of course pre-ordered.  Some dishes, such as The Screaming Banger (sausages and chilli relish) or The Christmas Dinner, are best enjoyed on hugely thick slabs of bread.  However, a bagel or a wrap, whilst perhaps seen as a bit of a cop-out, are good for The BBC (Bacon, brie, cranberry), or the Smokey Blue Mountain (bacon, blue cheese and leafy salad).  The advantage of wraps, are that they leave space to enjoy the satisfyingly chunky chips, so even though Sharon was fondly remembering the Fisherman's Friend (fishfingers and tartar sauce), wraps were quite literally the order of the day.

'By the Bayou' was a previously untried choice for me, and I was  pleasantly surprised.  'Blackened' chicken was thankfully not charred, but had a Cajun seasoning that wasn't overpowering, but with a good kick, tempered by a honey mustard dressing, which wasn't too sweet on account of the leafy salad and the spicy chicken, but was a little too much in Sharon's Chicken Licken (but she reported the avocado to be a good addition).

We had in summation, a really lovely lunch (and even though we split a portion of chips and a portion of salad between us, we didn't manage to finish either - with a fixed price of about £7 for a main course this is pretty great value if you go for the giant sandwich option).  Despite it only being a Thursday the indoors and outdoors soon filled up, so it is worth noting that arriving early can dramatically improve your dining experience.  The car park is always overflowing, but parking can always be found on the road, or in the small (free) car park by the Jubilee River, just about 100 yards down the road from the pub.  The toilets could definitely do with a revamp, and this isn't always a great place to visit in winter in a large group, but for a relaxed summer afternoon, it is pretty great and definitely worth a visit.

(To preorder or reserve a table, call The Pineapple on 01628 662353.  Lake End Road, Dorney, Bucks, SL4 6QS)

The White Horse, Village Road, Hedgerley, SL2 3UY

I'm amazed I'd not written about The White Horse until now. Originally a Beer in the Evening find, it's my most favourite (relatively local) drinkery, and the place where I take all my distinguished visitors, in order to counteract the smokestacks and trading estate view from my flat. True to form, I whisked Laura from Slough Rail Station to the gorgeously rural village of Hedgerley.

From the moment we headed up 'One Pin Lane', and took delight at 'Christmas Lane', Laura expressed incredulous shock at the opulent houses and lush greenery - Toto I have a feeling we're not in Slough anymore...

Village Road itself is exactly how you'd imagine it - flanked by fields and a tiny church - we parked a short walk away, and found we weren't the only ones walking the final few yards to The White Horse (it's always busy- I've never attempted to squeeze into the car park). The timber-thatched building dates back to 1679, with nothing incongruously modern in the decor. Always busy, this is everyone's favourite pub. Two bar areas (one so tiny, I've frequently had to sit in the fireplace cubbyhole -see picture below courtesy of Lee on a previous visit), and a wonderful rambly garden, makes this place a delight.


The winner of many a Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) award, it boasts an immensely wide ranging selection of booze - from the aforementioned real ale, to properly potent cider, to a selection of Belgian Bottled Beers so large it's presented to those who ask, in a ring-binder.

 But my visit with Laura, was no normal day. The sun was shining to herald not only the start of the Bank Holiday Weekend, but also the 18th Annual White Horse May Bank Holiday Beer Festival, as we discovered with delight as we walked into the beer garden.


Although not yet 6pm on Friday, the large garden was full of relaxed drinkers, taking advantage of the huge bar tent serving 100s of beers - the atmosphere very much like we were in the garden of a friend. We found a quiet spot upon the steps of the children's playhouse, got ourselves a suitably frivolous raspberry beer and basked in the sun... Fruitily, frothily, delicious we marvelled at our good luck.

The Jolly Farmer, Cookham Dean - 13th June 2009

I have to admit to being someone who does a bit of online research to discover good eating and drinking places. Reviews on sites like Toptable are useful indicators of what to expect in a restaurant, perhaps because the diners book through the site and have to post a review to receive 'points', which result in large numbers of up-to-date reviews. The nearest equivalent for pubs seems to be Beer in the Evening which doesn't work quite so efficiently. I use the site whenever I am looking for a pub in the Bucks/Berks countryside where I live, but the ratings and reviews can be a bit hit and miss, with some successes (such as The Dew Drop Inn in Hurley), but also a pub or two that hasn't lived up to expectations.

The Jolly Farmer in Cookham Dean appeared to fall into the latter category when myself and the boy went there for a sunday-night drink a few weeks ago. The knowledge that the pub was owned by the village appealed to our anti-corporate sensibilities, but walking in to a slightly unwelcoming response from some of the regulars, left us feeling a little disappointed. We did however notice some redeeming features: high calibre 'Red Sky' cheese and bacon flavoured crisps, bar staff who remembered what we were drinking on our second round, and despite the rain - the existence of the largest beer garden known to man (well in Cookham Dean).

So on a very sunny Saturday lunchtime, we returned to put The Jolly Farmer's beer-garden and food through its paces. I arrived early and found to my delight that the beer-garden possessed two rare qualities: the garden was sunny, and it had ample seating! I'd expected to find a larger number of tables crammed in together, but the people/space in garden ratio, was just about perfect (a real advantage of finding a pub off the beaten track).

The lunch menu consisted of a number of sandwich and jacket potato options with some more substantial 'pub lunch' dishes also available. I can't tell you a huge amount more about the menu, as i'd spotted a bacon, mushroom and stilton sandwich, and nothing sounded more appealing! There was however a brief discussion about whether white/brown or a baguette 'upgrade' (for £1), would be the best bread to complement the sandwich. Graham pointed out that the quandry may actually not be between sliced bread or baguette, but actually whether as the menu implied, the sandwich option was served cold, and the baguette, hot. He went to investigate and order, and after a longish wait (which we had been warned about, and which really wasn't a problem when we were waiting in such a sunny beer garden in an idylic location), I had my hot sandwich on granary sliced bread (perfect), and he had a ploughman's (also with stilton - King of Cheeses). The portions could have been bigger and there was only a small amount of salad as a side, (with red onion that was a little harsh), but otherwise , the always winning combination of mushroom and bacon was nicely complemented with the stilton. The boy, being a bit of a stilton enthusiast didn't think it was the best he'd tasted, but enjoyed his food all the same (apart from the celery).

So all in all, the online research i'd done to find the pub a few weeks back, really paid off. This was the best beer-garden i'd found in about a year, and the food and drink were really enjoyable. It was also great to find a pub so close to home, which felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, which is a definite part of its appeal.

Overall:

Atmosphere: The atmosphere in the beer garden was incredibly chilled out - it was the perfect place to drink and read the paper, although there is a small play-area for kids a bit further towards the back of the garden, but it was not busy enough for this to be noisy. In the pub itself, the ban on music and fruit machines means it is great for having a chat, (although last time on a quiet sunday evening, this was a bit oppresive).

Service: Good service behind the bar, and a bit of comedy value from the waitress shouting out people's surnames to deliver lunch to the right tables. A nearby table almost took offence when she shouted Graham's surname, which they had heard as 'wake up'.

Value for money: The portions were on the smaller side, with no sides included with the meals, so about £5 for a sandwich was a little on the pricy side.

Toilets: Neither good nor terrible, they could do with a bit of sprucing up.

Marks out of 10:
Food would be a 7/10, but the overall experience, with beer-garden bonus, brings this to 9/10 as we both had a really enjoyable lunch. 

UPDATE

I revisited the Jolly Farmer yesterday to take advantage of the beer garden in the beautiful weather. It was sunday lunchtime, and although it was quite a bit busier than my last visit, there were still tables available in the lovely garden. Service was friendly and a lot more efficient than last time (using numbers rather than last-names has less comedy value, but does increase the ease with which you get your lunch!) I ordered the same sandwich than last time and but it was actually more delicious second time round! Really juicy mushrooms and crispy bacon. I also checked out the toilets after Laura mentioned they had been refurbed, and I am very happy to report that they have been significantly spruced up. This has definitely become one of my favourite pubs, and i'll certainly be visiting again (and again).